CERF, 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


CERF  LIBRARY 

PRESENTED  BY 

REBECCA  CERF  '02 

IN  THE  NAMES  OF 

CHARLOTTE  CERF  '95 

MARCEL  E.  CERF  '97 

BARRY  CERF  '02 


.u^"!!  iO'J 


3n  iflemoriam* 


NATHAN  CROSBY,  LL.D. 


25om  f  eBtuarp  12,  1798* 


SDieti  f  eBruarp  10,  1885< 


How  happy  is  he  born  and  taught, 
Who  serveth  not  another's  will; 

Whose  armor  is  his  honest  thought, 
And  simple  truth  his  utmost  skill. 


%Q  mttt  i^t  DetnanH  for  jettcld  a  fSi^ttt%  asi  jBf)oulD  fafrlp  fitt  fort][) 
t^t  lift  attD  character  of  3fuuge  CrojBfbg  for  tfjw^  pagt;B;,  it  tnae  at 
fir;a(t  ntjetgneli  to  r^prouuce  in  t})t  toap  of  e;:act  quotation  \xi^at  Jjali 
hetn  giUen  to  ti^e  public  bn  ti^e  nailp  prt0;B!  of  t^iijBf  cit^^  at  tije  tinw  of 
W  neat]^* 

98ut  t!)i;e(  m^tl^oD,  it  toa^  founD,  toouls  require  an  incontienient 
amount  of  jgpace  ann  tooulB  iniioltie  not  a  little  repetition ;  afi  ttit 
(acta  feere  ueritien  b?  tfje  Bifferent  \s^tittt0  mainly  from  tl^e  ;G!ame 
fioutce* 

a  better  plan  eeemeu  to  be  to  obtain  tlje  con^sent  of  tide  mt^ovfi 
to  a  free,  contien;e'eti,  ann  netol?  arranged  net  of  tl^eir  paragrapi^jt 
toitb  tl^i^  general  adtnotDlengment  of  iniiebtetine;S;B!  to  ti^em  for  tf^t 
tDork  Wc^  tbe^  iisin  sio  abl^  ano  faitbfull^  Done* 

W)ifi  giijejS  to  tbe  ^tcli  tl^t  tf^ect  of  a  continuou;0;  narratiJit, 
txAt^  (f)t  auiiantage  tbat  come;si  from  tbe  ;sfeijeral  attractive  ;B(iDe-lig]dt;a( 
of  JiarieD  auti)orj5t)ip  ano  lJitoer;s!itie;e(  of  mlt*  3ltt  tW  fotm  it  i0 
aflfectionatelp  uenicateo  to  tl^ou  tolio  toere  near  ano  Dear  to  l^im,  anD 
to  tbe  frienu;s  tbat  knetD  anu  loijeD  Ijim  htau 


M570907 


STn  iHemoriam. 


Judge  Nathan  Crosby  is  dead.  Full  of  years  and 
honors  he  passed  serenely  from  this  life  into  the  life  immor- 
tal, at  a  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock,  Tuesday  evening, 
February  lo,  1885.  Had  he  lived  thirty-six  hours  longer  he 
would  have  completed  his  eighty-seventh  year,  a  remarkable 
age  in  this  era  of  short-lived  men.  It  was  not,  however,  the 
mere  multiplicity  of  years  that  made  the  man  so  interesting, 
but  the  ease  and  grace  with  which  they  were  carried.  His 
eye  was  bright,  his  form  erect,  his  step  elastic,  his  whole 
bearing  a  striking  illustration  of  the  sturdy  strength  of  mind 
and  body  with  which  a  life  of  mental  and  moral  probity  is 
crowned.  He  died  as  he  had  lived  —  naturally,  nobly,  fear- 
less in  his  belief  in  truth,  justice,  and  Almighty  God.  His 
example  to  the  community  in  which  he  lived  is  the  greatest 
monument  that  could  be  left  behind  the  man.  He  was 
loved,  respected,  venerated  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  heart 
was  of  a  large  and  generous  mould,  full  of  love  for  all,  sym- 
pathy for  their  infirmities,  joy  for  their  successes,  hope  for 
their  future.  As  a  Christian,  he  was  unwavering  in  his  belief 
in  the  doctrines  of  the  Orthodox  Congregational  church,  and 
looked  with  stern  disapprobation  upon  any  departure  from 
its  tenets.  He  was  a  practical  Christian.  He  did  not  believe 
in  words  without  works,  and  many  of  the  poor  and  needy  of 
his  city  cherish  his  name  in  sacred  remembrance  for  the  acts 


of  charity  he  so  unostentatiously  performed.  He  was  emi- 
nently a  "Christian  gentleman."  In  the  most  untoward  and 
vexatious  circumstances  he  was  distinguished  by  a  calm  and 
dignified  demeanor,  which  spoke  more  eloquently  than  open 
rebuke  against  the  sway  of  passion  and  the  heat  of  words. 
In  his  professional  life,  his  conduct  was  an  example  of  well- 
poised  forbearance  toward  all  who  came  antagonistically  in 
contact  with  him ;  and  of  consideration  and  respect  for  the 
opinions  of  each  honest  man,  no  matter  what  their  relations 
might  be  to  each  other.  Socially,  he  was  genial  and  enter- 
taining, and  a  Chesterfieldian  politeness  marked  his  inter- 
course with  all  men  and  women. 

He  was  blessed  with  an  equable  and  uniform  tempera- 
ment. He  was  never  passionate,  irritable,  or  exacting.  Always 
cheerful  and  genial,  he  could  not  help  being  considerate  of 
the  feelings  of  others.  He  was  a  very  liberal  man,  and  was 
constantly  regardful  of  the  wants  and  necessities  of  the  peo- 
ple. His  domestic  relations  were  of  the  happiest  description, 
and  he  was  almost  worshiped  by  his  children  and  grandchil- 
dren, nephews,  and  nieces.  He  was  extremely  fond  of  young 
people,  and  was  never  more  happy  than  when  he  had  a  circle 
of  them  about  him. 

He  loved  to  entertain  his  friends,  and  the  larger  the 
number  he  could  gather  at  his  dinner  table  the  more  satis- 
faction he  expressed.  He  loved  to  read  and  study,  and  spent 
the  most  of  his  time  among  his  books  in  his  library.  Gar- 
dening was  a  favorite  pastime  in  the  summer,  and  his  beauti- 
ful garden,  filled  with  rare  plants  and  choice  flowers,  was 
always  the  admiration  of  his  neighbors.  He  possessed  quiet 
home  tastes,  and  never  joined  any  of  the  local  secret  socie- 
ties.    He  had  a  very  high   opinion  of  the  duties  and  respon- 


sibilities  of  a  local  magistrate,  and  gave  deep  thought  and 
consideration  to  all  matters  affecting  the  morals  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived  for  so  many  years.  At  the  time  of 
his  appointment  as  police  judge,  the  office  was  considered  a 
very  much  higher  honor  than  it  is  at  present.  During  the 
changes  that  came  to  his  observation,  he  ever  performed  his 
duties  faithfully  and  conscientiously,  and  he  once  declined  an 
appointment  to  the  bench  of  the  superior  court.  His  love 
for  his  home  and  his  family  was  so  great,  that  he  could  not 
bear  to  absent  himself  from  them  as  much  as  the  duties 
of  a  superior  court  judge  would  require.  Although  an  advo- 
cate of  prohibition,  he  never  made  himself  prominent  in 
politics.  Prohibition  without  reference  to  politics  was  his 
standard. 

It  was  but  a  short  time,  a  little  more  than  four  weeks,  that 
Judge  Crosby's  familiar  form  was  missed  from  the  bench  of  the 
police  court,  where  for  so  many  years  he  had  been  honorably 
seated.  The  last  occasion  upon  which  he  was  seen  in  the 
streets,  was  on  Monday,  January  12,  when  he  attended  a 
meeting  of  the  Corporation  of  the  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank. 
On  that  day  he  was  elected  president  of  the  institution, 
but  declined  the  honor  on  account  of  advanced  age,  and  the 
indisposition  to  assume  further  responsibilities.  From  the  day 
referred  to,  he  was  confined  to  the  house,  but  not  to  his  bed 
until  Wednesday,  February  4th.  Up  to  the  end  of  November 
of  last  year,  he  had  never  been  ill  a  day  in  his  life.  On  the 
evening  of  the  last  Saturday  of  the  month  named,  he  was 
walking  through  the  hallway  of  his  residence,  when  he  stum- 
bled and  fell  over  a  package  that  he  had  not  observed.  The 
fall  caused  a  shock  which  brought  on  a  nervous  form  of  dys- 
pepsia, and  his  appetite  began  to  fail.     He  suffered  consider- 


8 


ably  on  the  following  Sunday,  but  recovered  sufficiently  to  be 
able  to  preside  in  court  on  Monday.  He  attended  to  his 
judicial  duties  all  through  the  month  of  December,  and 
evinced  a  strong  determination  to  battle  against  his  failing 
health.  He  was  conscious  of  his  growing  weakness,  but  he 
was  always  hopeful  that  a  change  for  the  better  would 
come.  At  length  he  became  so  weak  physically,  that  he  was 
unable  to  leave  his  home.  His  mind  continued  as  bright 
and  clear  as  usual,  however,  and  he  spent  his  time  in  his 
library  reading  and  writing  and  receiving  calls  from  his 
friends,  whom  it  always  gave  him  great  pleasure  to  entertain. 
His  immediate  relatives  became  aware  that  his  end  was  fast 
approaching,  and  that  his  continued  inability  to  receive 
nourishment  in  any  form,  made  his  demise  but  a  question 
of  a  few  days.  The  Judge,  meanwhile,  continued  in  the  best 
of  spirits,  and  never  expressed  a  thought  but  that  each  suc- 
ceeding day  would  show  signs  of  improvement  in  his  health. 

He  retired  to  bed  on  Wednesday  night,  February  4th, 
and  was  never  able  to  leave  it  again.  He  sank  rapidly,  but 
retained  his  consciousness  and  vivacity  up  to  Monday  even- 
ing. Loving  attendants  were  never  once  absent  from  his 
bedside,  and  the  fatal  moment  when  he  should  pass  away 
was  awaited  with  tearful  eyes.  Tuesday  morning  he  lapsed 
into  unconsciousness,  and  though  once  or  twice  during  the 
day  he  mutely  recognized  the  group  about  him  with  his  eyes, 
he  never  spoke  again.  At  a  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock, 
in  the  evening,  as  before  related,  he  sank  gently,  peacefully, 
into  the  sleep  of  death,  having,  so  far  as  is  known,  suffered 
not  a  pang  of  pain  during  the  entire  term  of  his  illness.  It 
was  a  fitting  close  of  a  singularly  pure  and  peaceful  life. 

Surrounding  the   death-bed  were   his  wife,   Mrs.  Matilda 


Crosby ;  her  niece,  Miss  Mitchell ;  his  son,  Hon.  Stephen 
M.  Crosby,  of  Boston,  and  his  four  daughters,  Mrs.  F.  C. 
Martin,  of  Boston,  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Martin,  Mrs.  M. 
C.  Lyon,  Mrs.  N.  W.  Norcross,  and  Mrs.  Charles  Francis, 
all  of  Lowell.  Messrs.  Norcross  and  Francis  were  also 
present. 

Judge  Crosby  sprang  from  good  old  English  stock.  The 
Crosby  family  took  root  in  this  country  in  the  year  1635, 
when  Simon  Crosby,  the  seventh  in  remove  from  the  subject 
of  this  memoir,  arrived  with  his  wife  Ann  on  the  "  Susan  and 
Ellyn,"  and  settled  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 

Josiah  Crosby,  the  grandfather  of  Nathan,  was  born  in 
Billerica  in  1730.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  Revolution,  and 
was  present  with  two  sons  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 
His  son  Asa,  Nathan's  father,  was  born  in  Amherst,  now 
Milford,  New  Hampshire,  in  1765.  Nathan  was  born  in 
Sandwich,  New  Hampshire,  on  the  12th  of  February,  1798. 
His  mother  was  Betsey  Hoit,  daughter  of  Col.  Nathan  Hoit, 
of  Sandwich,  who  was  an  officer  in  Washington's  body  guard. 
Nathan  was  the  seventh  of  her  ten  children,  nine  of  whom 
were  living  at  the  time  of  her  death,  April  2,  1804. 

Nathan's  father  was  married  again  in  1806,  his  second 
wife  being  Abigail  Russell,  who  had  seven  children,  of  whom 
two  only  were  living  at  the  time  of  her  death  in  1856. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  Judge  Crosby  was  one  of 
a  family  of  seventeen  brothers  and  sisters,  of  whom  the  only 
survivor  is  Mrs.  Sarah  Burleigh,  of  Dexter,  Maine,  ninety 
years  old,  and  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Oilman  Burleigh.  It 
was  to  visit  this  sister  that  he  made  his  last  journey  from 
home  in  November.  The  last  time  that  he  left  Lowell  was 
at  Christmas,  when  he  dined  with  his  son  in  Boston. 


10 


The  country  into  which  Nathan  was  born  was  in  the 
infancy  of  its  settlement,  and  the  stirring  days  of  the  Revo- 
lution were  fresh  in  the  memory  of  its  inhabitants.  There 
was  a  great  deal  of  work  and  very  little  play  in  store  for 
the  lad,  as  he  soon  found  out  when  he  reached  the  years 
when  his  hands  could  be  levied  upon  for  their  share  of 
assistance  in  the  maintenance  of  the  household. 

Passing  over  the  experience  of  his  earlier  days,  it  is 
found  that  in  1814  the  boy  Nathan  was  sent  to  Jacob  Tweed 
Eastman,  a  member  of  Dartmouth  College,  to  learn  Latin, 
but  after  one  term  with  him,  Eastman  closed  his  school,  and 
Nathan  was  then  sent  to  "the  good  old  Master  Leavitt,  the 
almanac  maker,"  who  gave  him  "more  praise  than  knowl- 
edge" for  another  term.  After  that  he  went  to  Salisbury, 
where  Samuel  I.  Wells,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College, 
gave  him  thorough  instruction  for  a  year.  In  the  spring  of 
1816  Nathan's  father  removed  to  Gilmanton,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  after  a  short  term  at  the  Gilmanton  Academy, 
Nathan  entered  Dartmouth  College,  from  which  institution  he 
was  graduated  in  1820. 

Of  his  college  life  Judge  Crosby  was  wont  to  speak  with 
affectionate  remembrance.  By  none  of  her  alumni  was  the 
old  Granite  State  college  more  fondly  remembered  than  by 
him.  It  had  been  his  custom  often  in  recent  years  to  receive 
at  his  home  such  Dartmouth  graduates  as  could  be  sum- 
moned from  this  vicinity,  and  at  such  gatherings  there  was 
the  most  affectionate  homage  by  all  at  the  shrine  of  their 
alma  mater.  There  were  nineteen  members  in  his  class,  of 
of  whom,  last  year,  but  three  were  living.  Those  beside 
himself  were  Rev.  David  Goodwillie,  Liberty,  Pennsylvania, 
and    Hon.    George    W.   Nesmith,   of    Franklin,   New   Hamp- 


II 


shire.  But  three  of  previous  classes  remained :  Rev. 
Oliver  Swain  Taylor,  of  Auburn,  New  York,  1807 ;  Martin 
Brainard,  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  18 17,  and  Gen.  H.  K. 
Oliver,  Boston,  18 18.  His  class  contained  many  who  subse- 
quently became  widely  known,  among  them  his  surviving 
classmate,  Hon.  George  W.  Nesmith,  who  attained  distinction 
in  the  law  in  New  Hampshire.  There  was  also  Judge 
Nathaniel  G.  Upham,  of  Concord,  who  lived  to  become  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Bar;  also  Hon.  George  P.  Marsh,  LL.D.,  who  was  Minister 
to  Turkey  in  1849-1856,  special  Minister  to  Greece  in  1852, 
and  Minister  to  Italy  in  1861.  During  his  college  life  he 
formed  personal  friendships  which  were  cherished  in  after 
life,  and  which  were  of  great  pleasure  and  value  to  him. 
Among  these,  beside  those  mentioned  above,  were  Rufus 
Choate  and  John  Aiken  of  the  class  of  18 19. 

Returning  to  Gilmanton,  the  young  man  began  the 
study  of  law,  and  after  two  years'  application  to  Coke  and 
Blackstone  there,  he  went  into  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Asa 
Freeman  at  Dover,  New  Hampshire,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar  in  the  autumn  of  1823.  He  then  opened  an  office  in 
New  Chester,  now  Hill,  New  Hampshire,  but  soon  returned 
to  Gilmanton,  where,  on  September  28,  1824,  he  married 
Rebecca  Marquand,  daughter  of  Stephen  Moody.  She  was 
a  lady  of  great  personal  beauty,  of  refined,  dignified  and 
courteous  manner,  benevolent,  warm-hearted,  and  sincere. 

He  was  taken  into  law  partnership  with  Mr.  Moody, 
and  remained  with  him  until  1826,  when  he  removed  to 
Amesbury,  Massachusetts,  and  from  there,  three  years  later, 
to  Newburyport.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  pursued  his  pro- 
fession  with   courage,   diligence,   and   success,    and    with  fair 


12 


prospects  of  distinction,  but  was  successfully  tempted  to 
return  to  Amesbury  and  take  the  place  of  agent  of  the  Salis- 
bury Manufacturing  Company.  Manufacturing  was  then  a 
popular  and  growing  interest,  and  offered  to  young  men 
great  temptations  as  an  opening  field  to  influence  and  power. 
He  spent  about  six  years  in  Amesbury  and  Newbury  and 
Newburyport  in  the  prosecution  of  manufacturing  business, 
when  he  removed  to  Boston  as  the  agent  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Temperance  Union,  to  conduct  the  great  moral  warfare 
between  the  friends  and  opposers  of  the  historic  fifteen-gallon 
law.  He  traveled  through  the  State,  holding  conventions, 
making  addresses,  printing  papers,  tracts,  etc.,  to  establish, 
as  he  has  said,  the  great  doctrine  of  the  right  of  the  people 
to  protect  themselves  by  law  against  the  evils  of  the  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquor.  He  always  looked  back  to  this  work 
with  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction,  and  during  its  five  years' 
continuance  he  made  the  acquaintance  and  friendship  of 
many  distinguished  men,  few  of  whom,  however,  have  out- 
lived him. 

Judge  Crosby  was  also  early  identified  with  the  anti- 
slavery  and  other  reforms,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  and 
most  active  advocates  of  railroads.  During  the  temperance 
movement  referred  to,  he  edited  the  Temperance  Journal^  and 
other  interesting  documents  that  were  issued  at  that  time. 

In  November,  1843,  J^^ge  Crosby  came  to  Lowell  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  the  city  which  he  held  unbroken 
from  that  day  until  his  death.  He  resumed  the  practice  of 
law  upon  his  removal  to  this  city,  and  in  1845  and  1846  was 
engaged  in  purchasing  the  New  Hampshire  lakes  for  reser- 
voirs of  water  for  the  manufacturing  corporations  in  Lowell 
and   Lawrence.      On  May   19,  1846,  he  received  his  commis- 


13 

sion  as  standing  justice  of  the  police  court  of  Lowell,  and 
took  the  oath  of  office  on  the  same  day.  For  thirty-nine 
consecutive  years  he  has  occupied  the  bench  of  the  police 
court,  a  remarkable  record  of  long  tenure  of  office  of  which 
Judge  Crosby  was  justly  proud.  He  was  nominated  for  the 
office  by  the  late  Hon.  Samuel  Hoar,  of  Concord,  Massachu- 
setts, and  was  commissioned  by  the  late  ex-Governor  Briggs. 

Some  years  ago,  Judge  Crosby  wrote  an  admirable 
pamphlet  on  the  "  First  Half  Century  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege," and  later,  at  the  request  of  the  Alumni,  a  "  Eulogy 
upon  the  late  Hon.  Tappan  Wentworth,"  of  Lowell,  donor 
to  the  college  of  half  a  million  dollars.  Also,  by  request,  a 
eulogy  on  Judge  Samuel  S.  Wilde,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Massachusetts,  which  he  delivered  before  the  Alumni  at  the 
Commencement  of  1881.  He  also  delivered  before  the  Essex 
County  Association  and  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society 
in  1879  ^"  address,  consisting  of  personal  reminiscences  of 
Rufus  Choate,  Caleb  Cushing,  and  Robert  Rantoul,  who  were 
his  friends  and  contemporaries  at  the  Essex  bar.  Besides 
the  works  referred  to.  Judge  Crosby  has  published  a  volumi- 
nous amount  of  matter  upon  the  temperance  cause,  his  nu- 
merous contributions  to  the  local  press  being  well  known  to 
all  the  citizens  of  Lowell.  He  was  an  earnest,  honest 
writer,  seeking  more  to  impress  upon  the  mind  the  truth  of 
what  he  had  to  say  than  to  clothe  his  thoughts  in  rhetorical 
graces  and  embellishments. 

In  1867,  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  January,  Judge  Crosby's 
wife  died  in  Lowell,  in  the  sixty-ninth  year  of  her  age. 
They  had  nine  children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living. 

The  loss  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Caverly,  and  his  grand- 
daughter Amy,  by  shipwreck  on   the   Scilly  Islands   in    1875, 


^4 

was  a  most   terrible    and    bitter    affliction,    weighing    heavily 
upon  his  spirits  for  many  months. 

For  his  second  wife  he  married  Matilda  (Pickens)  Fear- 
ing, daughter  of  James  and  Charity  Pickens,  and  widow  of 
Dr.  Joseph  W.  Fearing,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  The 
marriage  took  place  in  Boston,  May  19,  1870,  and  Mrs. 
Crosby  survives  her  husband. 

The  death  of  this  venerable  and  venerated  citizen  severs 
the  most  prominent  link  that  has  connected  the  Lowell  of 
the  present  with  the  Lowell  of  the  past.  Judge  Crosby  was 
a  scion  of  one  of  the  sturdiest  of  the  sturdy  families  of  New 
England.  The  Crosby  race  has  long  been  conspicuous  in 
New  England  annals;  and  in  every  epoch  for  the  past  two 
hundred  years,  of  the  stirring  life  of  this  cold  corner  of  the 
country,  the  name  of  Crosby  has  figured  with  more  or  less 
activity  and  honor.  It  is  as  a  magistrate  and  a  philanthro- 
pist that  this  community  has  known  the  late  Judge.  For 
thirty-nine  years  the  standing  judge  of  the  local  police  court, 
and  doubtless  at  his  decease  the  oldest  police  judge  in  the 
nation,  Judge  Crosby  has  stood  between  more  offenders 
against  the  law  and  the  public  weal  than  any  other  man  who 
has  ever  sat  upon  a  bench  of  justice.  In  all  this  long  and 
varied  experience  with  the  elements  that  go  to  make  up  the 
evil  that  exists  in  society,  it  is  literally  true  that  the  late  dis- 
penser of  the  penalties  of  the  law  was  ever  actuated  by  a 
desire  to  protect  both  the  interests  of  the  accused  unfortu- 
nates, who  day  after  day  were  arraigned  in  his  court,  and 
the  welfare  of  the  people,  whose  servant  at  all  times  he 
considered  himself  to  be. 

As  a  worker  in  the  cause  of  temperance.  Judge  Crosby's 
labors  should  not  be  lost  sight   of.     For  many  years   he   has 


15 

been  a  conspicuous  contributor  to  various  temperance  publi- 
cations, has  spoken  upon  this  vital  subject  from  many  plat- 
forms, and  has  exemplified  in  his  own  manner  of  living  the 
principles  which  he  advocated.  Judge  Crosby's  life,  precept, 
and  example,  form  a  valuable  addition  to  the  current  history 
of  the  city,  and  can  be  held  up  to  the  people  of  the  day  as 
worthy  of  all  imitation. 

One  of  the  chief  lessons  of  his  life  to  the  present  gen- 
eration is  the  value  of  sober  living.  Here  was  a  man  whose 
birth  antedates  that  of  the  present  century,  and  yet  his 
steady  form  and  vigorous  elastic  step,  and  clear  and  alert 
mental  powers,  had  been  preserved  up  to  within  a  few  months, 
if  not  weeks,  of  the  final  hour  of  dissolution.  He  had  been 
free  from  any  and  all  of  the  inordinate  and  hurtful  excesses 
of  modern  life  ;  had  made  the  condition  of  his  health  a  study, 
and  had  so  favored  nature  by  abstemious  habits  and  methods 
of  daily  routine,  that  the  four-score  and  more  of  years  were 
less  apparent  upon  his  form  and  features  than  three-score 
upon  many  who  have  been  the  contemporaries  of  this  eminent 
and  upright  citizen.  It  was  the  result  of  intelligence  and 
discretion  in  the  commonest  affairs  of  every-day  life ;  and  its 
effect  should  not  be  lost  upon  the  fast  and  deteriorating 
livers  of  the  present  day. 


i6 


€||e  funerals 


Friday,  February  13,  1885,  2.30  p.m. 


I.     "Asleep  in  Jesus" Choir. 

2.    Selections  from  the  Scriptures. 

3.    "There  is  a  Safe  and  Secret  Place"   ....       Choir. 

4.    Address  and  Prayer. 

5.    "Servant  of  God,  well  done" Choir. 

6.    <35cnebiction. 


Service  of  Committal,  and  Prayers  by  Rev.  Alfred  E.  Johnson. 


elections  from  ti)e  Scriptures* 


After  a  portion  of  Psalms  XC  and  XXXIX  the  following  selec- 
tions were  read  : 

Thou  art  my  hope  O  Lord  God  !  thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth. 
.  .  .  Cast  me  not  off  in  the  time  of  old  age ;  forsake  me  not  when  my 
strength  faileth. 

O  God,  thou  hast  taught  me  from  my  youth,  and  hitherto  have  I 
declared  thy  wondrous  works.  Now,  also,  when  I  am  old  and  grey- 
headed, O  God  forsake  me  not  until  I  have  showed  thy  strength  unto 
this  generation,  and  thy  power  unto  every  one  that  is  to  come. 

In  the  time  of  trouble  he  shall  hide  me  in  his  pavilion,  in  the 
secret  of  his  tabernacle  shall  he  hide  me ;  he  shall  set  me  up  upon  a 
rock. 

Because  he  hath  set  his  love  upon  me,  therefore  will  I  deliver  him ; 
I  will  set  him  on  high,  because  he  hath  known  my  name.  He  shall  call 
upon  me,  and  I  will  answer  him ;  I  will  be  with  him  in  trouble ;  I  will 
deliver  him  and  honor  him.  With  long  life  will  I  satisfy  him,  and  show 
him  my  salvation. 

If  thou  prepare  thine  heart  and  stretch  out  thine  hands  toward  the 
Almighty,  thou  shalt  be  steadfast  and  not  fear  —  because  thou  shalt  for- 
get thy  misery  as  waters  that  pass  away;  and  thine  age  shall  be  clearer 
than  the  noon-day;  thou  shalt  shine  forth  as  the  morning;  thou  shalt 
take  thy  rest  in  safety ;  none  shall  make  thee  afraid  ;  yea  many  shall 
make  suit  unto  thee. 

Neither  shalt  thou  be  afraid  of  destruction  when  it  cometh;  thy 
tabernacle  shall  be  in  peace;  and  thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  full 
age,  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his  season. 

The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  pro- 
longeth  days. 


i8 


The  labor  of  the  righteous  tendeth  to  life. 

Let  thine  heart  keep  my  commandments;  for  length  of  days  and 
long  life  and  peace  shall  they  add  to  thee. 

Happy  is  he  that  findeth  wisdom.  She  is  more  precious  than  rubies ; 
length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand,  and  in  her  left  hand  riches  and 
honor.    Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace. 

The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm-tree  —  he  shall  grow  like 
the  cedar  in  Lebanon ;  those  that  be  planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
shall  flourish  in  the  courts  of  our  God :  they  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit 
in  old  age. 

And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  me :  Write,  Blessed 
are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works  do  follow  them. 


atitiress. 


This  is  the  sad  and  solemn  hour  of  our  leave-taking  of 
all  that  is  mortal  of  our  honored  brother  and  friend.  At 
such  an  hour,  our  minds  naturally  ask  for  those  thoughts 
which  are  consolatory  and  uplifting,  and  point  us  to  our  own 
higher  duties,  and  the  needed  preparation  for  the  great 
inheritance  of  the  life  to  come. 

We  have  much  to  console  us  in  this  hour  of  bereave- 
ment. While,  like  every  visitation  of  death,  it  impresses 
upon  us  that  all  are  mortal ;  that  there  is  no  discharge  in 
this  warfare ;  that  it  knows  no  exempts ;  that  all  are  banded 
together  in  the  solemn  march  to  the  grave ;  we  cannot  say 
that  the  blow  has  fallen  prematurely. 

Life's  largest  promise  has  been  well  fulfilled.  Our  hon- 
ored and  beloved  friend  had  filled  out  the  three-score  and 
ten  years  that  are  said  to  be  allotted  to  man ;  and  then  he 
had  traveled  on  through  another  decade,  and  on  still  through 
a  large  fraction  of  another.  Three  years  more  would  have 
given  him  a  life  of  four-score  and  ten.  A  few  hours  more 
would  have  brought  him  to  the  anniversary  of  his  birthday, 
which  he  had  been  wont  to  mark  with  some  special  observ- 
ance from  year  to  year.  It  pleased  God  that  this  anniver- 
sary which  was  so  near  should  find  him  among  a  larger 
group  of  friends  who  had  passed  on  before  to  that  world 
where    those   birthdays   are   celebrated  in   which  the   soul  is 


20 


born  again.  Let  us  not  forget  today  the  rejoicings  and  con- 
gratulations that  are  resounding  there. 

I  have  said  there  was  here  no  premature  quenching  of 
the  spark  of  life.  This  is  a  good  old  age.  True,  there  was 
a  grand  holding  up  and  holding  out  of  physical  strength. 
There  was  a  wonderful  reserve  of  vital  force,  that  so  far  as 
we  could  see,  might  have  well  extended  his  life  to  a  century 
of  years.  The  divine  psalm  that  gives  us  proximately  the 
natural  limit  of  our  earthly  life,  has  added  that  "w^hen  by 
reason  of  a  special  endowment  of  strength,  there  are  four- 
score years,  that  very  strength  is  but  another  name  for  labor 
and  sorrow."  The  rule  is  not  without  its  exceptions.  And 
it  is  a  grand  and  beautiful  exception  that  we  have  before  us 
today.  By  reason  of  strength  there  have  been  the  four-score 
years  —  the  nearly  four-score  and  ten  years — and  yet  this 
strength  has  not  been  burdened  with  infirmity  and  suffering. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  a  wonderful  freedom 
from  bodily  pain. 

True,  the  life  of  our  dear  and  honored  friend  has  not 
been  without  its  sorrows ;  —  deep  heart-breaking  sorrows.  But 
his  Christian  faith  triumphed  over  them ;  the  sun  broke  forth 
from  behind  the  cloud,  and  his  pathway  became  bright  and 
luminous  again,  and  his  life  serene  as  before. 

Let  us  devoutly  recognize  the  goodness  of  God  in  spar- 
ing him  to  us  so  long,  and  giving  him  this  marked  exemption 
from  the  sufferings  that  so  commonly  attend  the  later  years 
of  life. 

Again,  there  is  much  to  console  us  in  the  consideration  of 
the  general  tenor  and  drift  and  usefulness  of  his  life.  It  has 
not  been  an  aimless  life.  It  has  not  been  an  idle  life.  It 
has  not  been  an  unproductive  life.     Tried  by  either  of  these 


21 


Standards,  it  commands  our  respect.  It  has  been  a  life  of 
high  and  noble  aims.  There  has  been  the  aim  to  deserve 
well  of  his  country ;  to  serve  his  generation ;  to  promote 
intelligence  and  good  morals;  to  fight  the  battles  of  truth 
against  all  that  is  false  and  pernicious  and  hostile  to  the 
general  welfare ;  to  uphold  virtue  against  every  form  of  evil ; 
to  aid  in  every  laudable  enterprise  ;  to  assist  those  who  were 
struggling  with  adversity ;  and  to  encourage  a  generous  ambi- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  young.  Above  all,  he  has  aimed  to 
promote  that  which  is  highest  in  human  thought  and  human 
aspiration  and  human  achievement  —  the  fear  of  God,  and 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  golden  rule  of  love  for  man.  It 
was  here  that  he  saw  the  surest  promise  for  the  life  that 
now  is,  and  for  that  which  is  to  come.  This  was  the  stand- 
ard to  which  he  sought  to  conform  his  life.  It  has  led  him 
to  "cast  his  bread  upon  many  waters,  and  certainly  some- 
thing of  it  has  come  back  to  him  after  many  days." 

He  occupied  an  honorable  post  in  a  noble  profession  where 
the  man  of  generous  aims  has  great  opportunities  to  with- 
stand iniquity  and  promote  righteousness  and  justice  among 
his  fellow-men.  His  brethren  of  the  bar  testify  for  him  that 
he  has  used  his  opportunities  conscientiously  and  well.  Their 
testimony,  freely,  though  as  yet  informally,  expressed,  beto- 
kens a  marked  unanimity  of  sentiment,  and  is  evidently  the 
utterance  of  sincere  hearts.  To  have  won  such  a  testimony, 
and  to  have  deserved  it,  is  to  have  achieved  a  record  for 
which  surviving  friends  may  well  be  grateful. 

Here  are  all  the  marks  of  a  useful  life  —  usefulness  of 
a  high  and  noble  type.  Is  there  anything  higher  than  this 
outward  usefulness  that  is  possible  to  man  ?  Standing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  grave,  with  our  outlook  for  the   time  upon   the 


22 


great  unseen  world,  and  the  Great  Supreme  Ruler  in  that 
world  as  well  as  in  this,  we  rejoice  to  answer  that  question 
in  the  affirmative.  And  here  again,  we  have  something,  yea 
everything,  to  be  grateful  for  in  the  memories  of  the  hour. 
Judge  Crosby  could  look  back  upon  the  morning  of  life  as 
the  time  when  the  deepest  soul  within  him  responded  to  the 
voice  that  rang  in  his  ears  with  the  words,  "  Remember  now 
thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth  ; "  "  they  that  seek  me 
early  shall  find  me  ; "  and  then  was  woven  that  bond  that 
held  him  through  all  these  years  to  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
to  whom  his  early  espousals  were  given. 

And  it  was  more  than  all  the  world  to  him  some  three 
days  ago,  that  He  who  has  said,  "He  that  cometh  to  me,  I 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out,"  had  said  also  "If  I  go  and  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you  to 
myself,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also." 

With  all  this  to  console  us,  we  may  say,  not  perhaps 
"  there  is  nothing  here  for  tears ; "  but  rather  let  the  tears  of 
affectionate  remembrance  be  tempered  with  the  profoundest 
gratitude  to  Almighty  God,  that  by  His  grace  our  dear  and 
honored  friend  has  fought  so  good  a  fight,  given  so  grand 
an  example,  and  gone  to  so  glorious  a  reward. 


iHemorial  Biscourfie* 

DELIVERED  AT  THE  HIGH  STREET  CHURCH,  FEB.  15,  1885. 
BY  REV.  OWEN  STREET,  D.D. 


"With  long  life  will  i  satisfy  him,  and  show  him  my 
SALVATION."     Psalm  xci:  i6, 

A  sentence  or  two  of  the  preceding  thought 
will  indicate  the  type  of  character  for  which  this 
promise  was  written  :  "  Because  he  hath  set  his 
love  upon  me,  therefore  will  I  deliver  him ;  I 
will  set  him  on  high  because  he  hath  known  my 
name.  He  shall  call  upon  me,  and  I  will  an- 
swer him;  I  will  be  with  him  in  trouble;  I  will 
deliver  him  and  honor  him.  With  long  life  will 
I  satisfy  him,  and  show  him  my  salvation." 

This  world  is  not  our  home.  Yet  we  have 
what  we  call  a  home  here,  and  it  is  the  center 
of  our  brightest  joys  and  of  our  purest  earthly 
affections,  a  type  of  the  better  home  above. 
Life  is  proverbially  short.     It  is  the  long  sigh  of 


24 

the  generations  that  we  scarcely  enter  the  world 
before  we  are  admonished  that  the  time  may  be 
close  at  hand  when  we  shall  be  called  to  leave 
it.  Yet  there  is  what  we  call  a  long  life  in  this 
world,  long  as  compared  with  the  brief  stay  of 
the  infant  of  a  few  days,  or  the  little  child  that 
is  prematurely  cut  off.  It  requires  but  a  glance 
at  what  is  passing  in  the  world,  to  see  that  the 
promise  which  we  are  considering  is  not  of  uni- 
versal application.  It  is  not  without  exception 
even  among  those  whose  character  and  manner 
of  life  are  described  in  this  psalm.  Rather  it  is 
itself  the  exception.  Yet  it  carries  a  meaning 
that  is  a  universal  truth.  That  meaning  is  else- 
where expressed  in  the  declaration  "  length  of 
days  is  in  her  right  hand,  and  in  her  left  hand 
are  riches  and  honor."  Or,  as  we  should  put  it 
in  our  more  common  style  of  thought,  he  who 
sustains  the  character  and  lives  in  the  spirit  that 
is  here  set  forth,  is  in  the  way  of  fairest  promise 
for  a  long  and  happy  life.  There  must  be  the 
ordinary  uncertainties  that  hang  about  life  and 
all  its  interests  in  this  world.  There  are  what 
we  call  fatal  accidents  that  may  lie  .  in  the  path 
of  any  one,  however  guarded  and  apparently 
secure,  and 


25 

"Fierce  diseases  wait  around 
To  hurry  mortals  home." 

There  are  ocean  storms  that  no  ship  can  outride. 
But  the  well-built  ship  in  which  there  is  no 
unsound  material,  has  the  best  promise  for  a 
long  succession  of  prosperous  voyages. 

There  is  still  another  universal  truth  con- 
tained in  the  text.  We  find  it  in  that  word 
"satisfy."  It  seems  at  first  view  as  if  this  would 
be  a  hard  point  to  make  out.  It  is  very  com- 
monly true  that  there  is  a  strong  clinging  to  life, 
a  shrinking  and  drawing  back  from  the  final  sur- 
render—  from  that  giving  up  of  the  known  for 
the  unknown,  and  from  that  separation  from 
those  that  have  become  dear  and  precious  to  the 
soul.  But  it  is  not  as  if  there  were  no  com- 
mingling of  other  and  higher  feelings  with  these ; 
no  uplifting  of  the  heart  to  God  ;  no  victories  of 
an  overcoming  faith ;  no  longings  "  to  depart  and 
be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better."  No  more  is 
it  as  if  the  promise  must  utterly  fail  unless  it 
have  a  large  fulfillment  in  this  world.  There  is 
a  large  field  for  its  accomplishment  in  the  broad 
opening  future,  and  the  unalloyed  satisfactions  of 
eternity.  He  who  has  said,  "I  will  satisfy  him," 
has   all   resources   and  a   boundless   future  at  his 


26 


command.  The  man  of  faith  may  well  respond, 
"  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy  like- 
ness." 

There  is  still  another  element  of  promise 
here :  "  I  will  show  him  my  salvation."  This 
means,  of  course,  a  salvation  for  him.  And  it 
conveys  the  impression  of  a  great  promised  boon. 
It  is  not  a  deliverance  brought  about  by  inferior 
agents.  "  I  will  show  him  my  salvation."  I  will 
show  him  what  a  saviour  I  can  be.  When  all 
the  promises  that  had  been  made  to  Abraham 
were  to  be  gathered  into  one,  and  concentrated 
into  a  single  word,  it  was  said,  "  I  will  be  a  God 
to  thee." 

In  like  manner,  when  all  the  splendors  of 
the  heavenly  world  as  revealed  in  the  visions  of 
the  apocalypse,  its  city  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 
with  walls  of  sapphire  and  gates  of  pearl,  and 
streets  of  gold,  and  crowns  and  thrones,  and 
harps  in  celestial  hands,  were  to  serve  as  mere 
approaches  to  a  supreme  and  ineffable  glory, 
the  final  turning  of  our  own  thoughts  is  to  Him 
who  is  the  Great  All  in  All. 

When  he  puts  himself  in  the  center,  the 
promise  becomes  supreme.  Beyond  that,  or 
higher  than   that,   our   thought   cannot  go.     And 


27 

yet  that  is  the  culmination  of  this  very  promise 
before  us;  God  is  in  the  center  of  it.  I  will 
satisfy  him  and  show  him  my  salvation.  When 
we  look  at  the  Promiser  we  know  we  cannot 
measure  the  boon. 

It  may  be  said  further,  in  illustration  of  this 
promise,  that  life  is  not  truly  measured  by  the 
clock,  or  the  calendar  of  weeks  and  months,  or  the 
number  of  years.  It  is  written,  "  The  child  shall 
die  a  hundred  years  old."  One  person  may  live 
longer,  as  tested  by  the  measuring-line  of  achieve- 
ment and  usefulness,  in  a  single  year  than  many 
another  in  three  quarters  of  a  century.  He  who 
lives  as  God  would  have  him,  is  sure  to  live  long 
enough. 

Not  long  enough  it  may  be  to  satisfy  his 
friends;  not  long  enough  perhaps  to  accomplish 
all  his  own  plans ;  but  long  enough  for  him  to 
be  satisfied  with  God's  decree  of  removal  when- 
ever it  may  be  carried  into  effect. 

These  thoughts  may  fitly  lead  us  on  to  the 
contemplation  of  the  long  and  useful  life  of  him 
whose  lamented  departure  has  been  to  us  the 
event  of  the  past  week. 

Nathan  Crosby  was  born  in  Sandwich,  New 
Hampshire,  February  12,  1798;  a  gift  of  the  last 


28 

century  to  the  present.  As  his  father  was  in 
professional  life,  a  practicing  physician  for  forty- 
six  years,  we  should  naturally  infer  that  the 
children  took  their  inspiration  for  the  paths  of 
literary  culture  and  public  service  directly  from 
him.  But  the  fact  seems  to  have  been  other- 
wise. His  father  had  not  much  leisure  for  books, 
and  still  less  for  direct  educational  work  in  the 
family. 

We  see  this  clearly  enough  in  his  son's 
account  of  his  "  long  cold  rides  in  the  saddle 
over  rough  roads  by  day  and  by  night,  in  storms 
of  rain  and  snow,  and  under  the  terrible  freezing 
temperature  of  the  long  winters  of  northern  New 
Hampshire.  It  is  a  mystery,"  he  tells  us,  "how 
he  lived  through  those  cold  winters  and  heavy 
snows,  often  breaking  out  his  own  road  over  the 
high  hills  of  Sandwich  in  a  single  sleigh,  with 
only  a  coverlet  over  his  feet  and  knees  ;  visiting 
the  sick  in  their  cold  houses,  where  one  room 
only  could  be  made  comfortable."  Besides  what 
he  has  written  and  published  to  this  effect  he 
has  narrated  to  me  the  circumstances  that  seemed 
for  a  time  to  be  clearly  determining  his  life  to 
agricultural  pursuits. 

In    a    conversation    in    regard    to    his    older 


29 

brother,  Dr.  Josiah  Crosby,  of  Manchester,  while 
he  was  yet  living,  he  said,  "  I  owe  everything  to 
him.  He  was  a  very  dear  and  kind  brother  to 
me.  There  seemed  to  have  been  a  place  made 
for  me ;  it  did  not  appear  to  be  a  thing  to  be 
thought  of  that  I  should  do  anything  else  than 
take  the  farm ;  but  he  had  acquired  other  tastes ; 
and  he  talked  a  great  deal  with  me,  and  woke 
my  ambition,  and  persuaded  my  father,  and 
turned  me  to  a  life  of  study."  And  it  seems  he 
did  the  same  for  the  other  children.  I  have 
since  found  the  following  brief  paragraph  in  the 
memoir  of  the  Crosby  family :  "  First  in  the 
family  to  break  away  from  the  general  destina- 
tion of  boys  in  his  time,  his  culture  and  in- 
fluence turned  the  family  into  the  opening  ave- 
nues of  education,  so  that  the  sisters  became 
school  teachers,  and  the  brothers  professional 
men.  His  counsel  encouraged  father,  and  his 
own  progress  stimulated  us  all  to  meet  and  con- 
quer all  obstacles  in  our  upward  course.  He 
was  our  counsellor  and  guide,  and  our  brother 
beloved  to  the  end." 

A    pleasant    and    delightful    tribute    this   for 
brother   to   render   to   brother.     To    me   it   is   as 


30 

interesting  for  what  it  shows  of  the  narrator  as 
for  what  it  shows  of  his  brother. 

From  this  it  is  but  a  short  story,  though  it 
seemed  long  enough  when  the  incidents  were 
passing,  to  his  preparatory  studies,  and  his  col- 
lege life. 

In  college  he  not  only  pursued  the  allotted 
course  of  study  with  his  class,  but  acquired  a 
strong  attachment  to  the  institution,  which 
seemed  to  grow  with  his  years.  He  proved 
himself  especially  open  to  the  quickening  and 
molding  influence  of  the  eminent  men  whose 
acquaintance  he  formed  there  —  the  officers  and 
trustees  and  visiting  friends  of  the  college,  and 
the  more  aspiring  of  the  students.  Indeed,  we 
may  well  believe  that  the  students  of  Dartmouth 
College,  as  a  body,  in  those  days  as  in  these, 
were  earnest  and  aspiring  men.  Their  errand  at 
the  institution  was  not  to  spend  money  or  trifle 
away  their  time.  It  is  not  difficult  to  trace  in 
all  Judge  Crosbys  history  the  influence  of  the 
companionships  and  the  less  intimate  acquaint- 
ances of  his  college  life,  and  even  the  opportu- 
nities of  observing  distinguished  men  with  whom 
he  never  spoke.  A  great  and  important  part  of 
his  effective  education  came  through  this   avenue 


31 

of  his  peculiarly  susceptible  nature.  I  think  it  is 
Cicero  who  tells  us  that  among  the  Romans  the 
statues  and  mementoes  of  the  dead  were  a  con- 
tinual admonition  and  stimulus  to  thoughtful 
minds,  rousing  them  to  nobler  efforts  and  higher 
achievements.  Judge  Crosby  preferred  to  take 
his  inspiration  from  what  he  remembered  and 
observed  among  the  living.  He  was  a  diligent 
reader  also  of  the  works  and  biographies  of  the 
eminent  men  of  New  England.  He  never  thought 
that  his  education  was  completed  when  he  left 
the  college.  He  continued  to  study  as  long  as 
he  lived.  This  kept  his  mind  bright  and  active. 
He  was  continually  recurring  to  that  thread  of 
history  that  held  him  in  vital  connection  with 
his  alma  mater. 

It  was  only  a  few  weeks  since,  after  his 
strength  had  begun  to  wane,  that  I  found  him 
contemplating  a  paper  of  reminiscences  of  his 
classmate,  Hon.  George  P.  Marsh,  who  was  for 
a  time  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  the  Sub- 
lime Porte.  He  commenced  gathering  the  mate- 
rial, but  I  think  the  paper  was  not  completed. 

His  pamphlet,  entitled  The  First  Half  Cent- 
ury of  Dartmouth  College^^  is  a  most  delightful 
work.      Like    some    of  the  pages   of    his    family 


32 

memoir,  it  has  a  rich  flavor  of  the  early  pioneer 
life  of  New  England,  though  in  a  different  vein, 
and  is  sprightly  and  stirring  from  beginning  to 
end.  I  do  not  wonder  that  the  students  who  lis- 
tened to  it  were  eager  in  their  applause. 

The  college  did  itself  honor  in  conferring 
one  of  its  highest  honorary  degrees  upon  him. 
He  afterwards,  at  the  request  of  the  alumni, 
prepared  a  eulogy  upon  the  late  Hon.  Tappan 
Wentworth,  of  our  city,  who  was  the  donor  to 
the  college  of  half  a  million  of  dollars.  Later 
still,  he  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  the  distinguished 
men  of  Essex  County  with  whom  he  had  been 
brought  more  or  less  intimately  in  contact. 
Each  of  these  works  show  that  he  had  lost 
nothing  of  his  earlier  ability  to  discern  and  strike 
at  the  salient  points  of  whatever  subject  he  chose 
to  discuss. 

In  1857  he  made  me  acquainted  with  a  plan 
which  he  had  formed,  and  was  beginning  to 
carry  into  execution,  of  condensing  and  compil- 
ing from  newspapers  and  reviews,  an  annual  of 
obituary  records  of  the  men  who  have  originated 
and  developed  our  institutions,  or  made  them- 
selves eminent  in  any  department  of  life.  It  was 
a    herculean    task    that    he    proposed    to  himself ; 


33 

that  of  casting  his  drag-net  over  all  our  wide 
country,  and  sweeping  together  the  records  of 
between  one  and  two  thousand  newspapers,  and 
selecting  from  them  those  accounts  that  were 
worthy  to  have  a  place  in  his  work.  But  he 
proved  himself  equal  to  the  undertaking. 

He  produced  two  octavo  volumes  of  between 
three  hundred  and  four  hundred  pages  each,  one 
for  the  year  1857,  and  the  other  for  the  year 
1858,  and  dedicated  them  to  the  president,  Hon. 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  and  the  members  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

It  was  a  hopeful  dream  of  those  days,  as 
he  repeatedly  told  me,  that  this  would  meet  an 
acknowledged  want  of  our  literature,  and  furnish 
him  a  useful  employment,  when,  as  the  case 
might  be,  through  infirmity  or  otherwise,  he 
might  retire  from  the  bench.  He  received  many 
words  of  encouragement  and  warm  appreciation 
from  such  men  as  Edward  Everett,  Robert  C. 
Winthrop,  Judge  Bell,  and  Drs.  Blanchard  and 
Cleveland  of  this  city.  But  the  work  did  not 
prove  remunerative,  and  after  the  issue  of  the 
second  volume,  it  was  abandoned. 

The  idea,  as  he  had  conceived  it  and  devel- 
oped it,  was   an   original   one ;   and   if   the   work 


34 

could  have  gone  on,  we  should  have  had  at  this 
time  in  our  libraries,  as  Edward  Everett  foretold, 
"  a  valuable  historical  compend."  Some  things 
certainly  would  have  been  saved  that  are  now 
lost  to  history. 

Some  seven  or  eight  years  ago  he  printed  an 
octavo  volume  of  one  hundred  and  forty-three 
pages,  to  which  I  have  already  alluded,  of  which 
he  modestly  says,  it  was  not  for  the  public,  but 
for  his  relatives,  a  family  book. 

But  it  has  fallen  into  other  hands,  and  been 
spoken  of  in  book  notices  as  a  work  of  rare 
interest.  It  shows  us  his  father  and  mother,  and 
something  of  the  earlier  generations  ;  it  shows  us 
his  brothers  and  sisters  and  their  families;  and 
it  shows  us  something  of  himself  and  his  own 
family. 

It  takes  us  into  the  comparative  wilderness 
of  early  New  England,  and  shows  us  how  the 
settlers  lived,  with  what  obstacles  and  enemies 
they  contended,  and  how  they  became  the  hardy 
and  virtuous  people  they  so  commonly  were. 
But  the  point  of  deepest  interest  to  the  thought- 
ful reader  is  that  array  of  noble  men  and  women, 
all  from  the  bosom  of  one  household,  which  the 
memoir    presents.     In   such    a   family    he    might 


35 

well  take  a  generous  pride.  His  account  of  him- 
self is  certainly  a  modest  one.  It  is  rather  an 
account  of  his  contacts  and  of  the  scenes  in 
which  he  lived.  But  these  are  the  side-lights 
that  show  us  the  man.  Or  rather,  the  entire 
work  shows  us  the   man. 

Besides  these  works,  on  which  he  bestowed 
no  inconsiderable  labor,  he  has  written  from  time 
to  time  for  the  newspapers,  both  in  Boston  and 
in  our  own  city.  Most  of  these  communica- 
tions have  borne  directly  or  indirectly  on  the 
cause  of  temperance.  I  shall  have  occasion  to 
allude  to  them  in  another  connection. 

What  I  have  thus  far  said,  has  been  with  the 
view  of  presenting  our  honored  friend  in  his 
intellectual  development.  I  could  not  speak  of 
him  as  he  was,  and  as  he  has  been  known 
among  us,  without  reference  to  those  products 
of  his  pen  that  reveal  to  us  the  workings  of  his 
mind. 

You  see  him  there  as  you  saw  him  every 
day,  giving  close  attention  to  the  matter  in  hand  ; 
determined  to  know  well  what  he  is  expected  to 
know;  making  no  claims  to  knowledge  which  he 
does  not  possess;  mindful  of  his  points,  and 
going  straight  to  the  mark;  ready  to   learn   from 


36 

others,  and  holding  tenaciously  what  he  has  al- 
ready learned  ;  thinking  clearly  and  speaking  for- 
cibly ;  bright  and  quick  at  repartee ;  transparent 
and  kindly  disposed  to  all ;  firm  yet  conciliatory ; 
self-poised,  dignified  yet  easy ;  courteous,  a  gentle- 
man by  nature,  and  still  more  a  gentleman  by 
grace ;  of  fixed  principles,  yet  always  conceding 
to  others  the  right  to  differ  from  him.  Such  we 
find  him  in  his  books,  and  such  we  found  him 
in  all  the  walks  of  life. 

Let  us  contemplate  a  little  more  distinctly 
his  aims  and  his  influence  in  his  daily  duties 
and  in  society.  He  was  not  satisfied  to  live  on 
the  low  level  of  selfish  aims.  He  discharged  his 
professional  duties  conscientiously,  seeking  to  get 
at  the  truth,  and  render  a  fair  measure  of  justice 
between  man  and  man. 

His  brethren  of  the  bar  give  a  generous  tes- 
timony for  him  to  this  effect.  Of  course  they 
cannot  always  have  approved  of  his  decisions. 
It  was  their  right  to  differ,  and  to  carry  appeal- 
able cases  to  the  court  of  appeal.  But  there 
were  thousands  of  cases  tried  before  him  for 
which  there  was  no  appeal.  And  he  has  repeat- 
edly expressed  to  me  his  surprise  that  when  he 
was  obliged  every  day  to  decide  adversely  to  one 


37 

or  the  other  of  the  opposing  counsel,  there  was 
left,  after  all,  such  a  generous  fund  of  good  feel- 
ing, and  that  he  found  himself  treated  with  such 
uniform  courtesy  and  kindness  by  the  bar.  I  am 
glad  to  repeat  in  the  presence  of  so  many  mem- 
bers of  the  bar  his  testimony  which  is  so  hon- 
orable to  them.  They  have  discerned  his  honest 
intentions,  and  respected  the  goodness  of  his 
heart,  when  their  judgment  differed  from  his.  It 
is  said  that  our  judges  are  generally  incorrupti- 
ble and  honest  men,  seeking  to  swerve  not  so 
much  as  a  hand-breadth  or  a  hair  from  exact 
justice.  I  am  glad  to  believe  this.  I  am  glad 
to  believe  that  there  is  something  in  the  very 
pressure  of  a  weighty  responsibility  upon  the 
mind  of  man  that  tends  to  equipoise  and  inclines 
to  uprightness.  Besides  the  uniform  rectitude  of 
intention  and  purity  of  motive  which  have  been 
so  freely  ascribed  to  our  honored  friend,  there 
has  been  a  very  grateful  and  pleasing  recogni- 
tion of  his  marked  urbanity  and  courtesy  in  all 
the  walks  of  life.  This  was  inseparable  from 
him.  It  seemed  as  natural  as  his  breath.  Meet 
him  where  you  might,  in  public  or  alone,  at 
home  or  abroad,  when  at  leisure  or  under  the 
pressure  of  business,  in  public  vehicles  or  on  the 


38 

sidewalk,  this  calm,  dignified,  polished  demeanor 
seems  almost  never  to  have  deserted  him. 

It  is  an  honor  to  our  city  to  have  had  so 
long  in  one  of  its  public  places  a  man  who 
could  be  thus  generally  respected  by  the  high 
and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  learned 
and  the  ignorant  —  a  man  whose  presence  was 
a  rebuke  to  all  that  was  rude  or  uncivil ;  and 
still  more  to  all  that  was  low  or  dishonest  or 
corrupt  or  vile  —  a  man  whose  life  was  an  incen- 
tive to  every  decency  and  every  virtue. 

He  entered  into  the  anti-slavery  reform 
before  it  became  popular,  from  the  force  of 
conviction,  and  with  all  the  zeal  of  his  youth- 
ful heart.  He  saw  many  other  men,  for 
whose  talents  and  standing  he  had  a  high 
respect,  bowing  with  servile  suppleness  to  that 
barbarous  sentiment  that  for  a  time  controlled 
the  nation,  but  he,  so  far  as  I  know,  never 
wavered.  He  did  not  believe  our  country  could 
long  prosper  or  accomplish  a  high  and  noble 
mission  in  the  world,  with  the  incubus  of  slavery 
upon  her.  When  the  war  broke  out  he  was 
quick  to  discover  the  part  the  people  would  have 
to  bear  in  aid  of  the  government,  in  the  way  of 
anticipating  and  providing  for   the   wants   of   the 


39 

soldiers.  Indeed,  the  very  first  public  sugges- 
tion of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  of  the 
practical  measures  that  would  be  needful,  was 
from  him.  And  it  was  accompanied  by  a  liberal 
donation  that  opened  the  way  for  all  that  flood 
of  beneficence  that  was  so  soon  afterward  poured 
forth,  both  by  the  rich  and  the  poor,  in  all  our 
loyal  States.  And  I  need  not  say  that  through 
all  that  long  struggle  there  was  no  heart  that 
beat  with  a  warmer  or  intenser  loyalty  to  our 
imperiled  country,  or  a  nobler  sympathy  for  the 
sufferings  of  its  defenders  than  his. 

I  can  almost  hear  today  the  solemn  cadences 
of  his  voice  as  he  so  often  led  us  in  our  prayers 
to  heaven  in  those  years  of  anxious  suspense 
and  gloom. 

Judge  Crosby  deserves  to  be  long  remem- 
bered for  what  he  has  done  as  the  advocate  of 
good  morals  among  us.  From  the  bench,  on 
the  platform,  before  legislative  committees,  and 
in  religious  bodies,  he  has  spoken  earnestly, 
eloquently,  and  with  the  deep  conviction  that 
came  from  his  special  opportunities  of  seeing 
and  knowing  the  evils  of  intemperance. 

He  has  also  written  much,  as  you  know,  for 
our   local    press,    discussing  every  aspect  of    the 


40 

temperance  reform ;  and  some  of  his  articles 
have  been  widely  disseminated,  calling  upon  his 
fellow-citizens  to  bestir  themselves  to  check  the 
work  of  destruction  which  is  going  on  in  the 
midst  of  us.  His  heart  has  been  in  this  labor 
from  the  earliest  days  of  the  reform,  and  no 
one  knew  it  in  all  its  stages  better  than  he. 
His  practice  has  always  been  consistent  with  his 
teachings.  And  his  vigorous  hold  upon  life,-  and 
his  grand  and  noble  command  of  his  faculties 
to  the  last  week  that  he  remained  with  us,  have 
made  him  a  splendid  example  to  prove  that  in 
his  principles  and  theory  of  temperate  living  he 
was  not  mistaken.  He  saw  in  the  prevalence 
of  intemperance  and  its  associated  evils  the  chief 
hindrance  to  our  national  prosperity,  the  greatest 
drawback  to  the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  the  most  formidable  barrier  in  the 
way  of  a  true  Christian  faith  and  a  pure  and 
undefiled  religion.  It  was  for  such  reasons  as 
these  that  his  life-work  was  so  largely  concen- 
trated upon  the  field  of  temperance  reform. 

His  religious  life  began  early.  Many  years 
ago  he  told  me  of  the  strong  hold  which  the 
pastor  of  his  youthful  days,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hid- 
den,   of    Tamworth,     New    Hampshire,    acquired 


41 

upon    his     mind,    and    of     the    impressions    that 
were  made   and  never  lost. 

He  early  made  a  public  profession  of  relig- 
ion, and  bore  his  part  in  the  labors  and  duties 
and  burdens  of  the  church.  He  has  been  from 
the  first  the  honored  high  priest  in  his  own 
household,  acknowledging  God  at  his  daily  table, 
and  maintaining  the  family  altar  through  all 
these  years.  His  last  service  in  this  long  line 
of  faithful  duty  was  rendered  after  his  final 
sickness  had  become  far  advanced,  and  is  spoken 
of  as  one  of  great  fervency  of  spirit  and  wonder- 
ful scope  and  tenderness  of  feeling.  His  spirit 
has  been  uniformly  cheerful  and  sunny  and 
inspiring.  He  had  a  strong,  unwavering,  con- 
trolling faith  which  held  fast  to  the  word  of 
God  and  the  early  New  England  standards. 
He  believed  with  steadiness  and  firmness  of 
conviction  in  the  doctrines  and  church  polity 
which  he  had  inherited,  and  deeply  lamented 
every  tendency  to  laxness  or  defection  from 
them.  He  has  been  watchful  of  all  changes  in 
the  religious  or  irreligious  world  ;  rejoicing  over 
every  bright  and  hopeful  indication,  and  mark- 
ing with  deep  regret  everything  that  seemed  to 
be    carrying    the    flow    of    events    backward     or 


42 

downward,  yet  never  letting  go  his  strong 
assurance  that  there  is  one  at  the  helm  of 
affairs  that  will  overrule  all  evil,  bring  out 
wonderful  results  of  progress,  and  give  the  world 
a  brighter  day.  This  cheerful  outlook  gave 
tone  to  his  faith,  and  made  it  practical.  He 
was  ready  for  every  good  word  and  work.  He 
was  liberal  in  giving  and  earnest  in  advocating 
every  Christian  effort. 

When  the  first  beginning  was  made  for  the 
French  Protestant  Church  in  this  city,  he  was 
quickly  at  the  front;  he  was  made  chairman  of 
the  committee  during  the  several  years  of  doubt- 
ful struggle ;  the  meetings  were  held  at  his  office ; 
and  in  the  darkest  days,  he,  more  than  any  one 
else,  gave  impulse  to  the  faltering  life  of  the 
enterprise,  and  spoke  the  words  of  cheer  that 
encouraged  others  to  carry  it  onward.  The  great 
work  of  Christian  missions  was  very  near  his 
heart.  He  was  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  kept 
himself  well  informed  in  regard  to  the  broad 
fields  in  which  they  were  disseminating  the  gos- 
pel in  so  many  different  languages,  and  such 
widely  separated  portions  of  the  world. 

He  felt   equally  the   importance  of  our  great 


43 

home  missionary  work,  and  was  a  generous  con- 
tributor to  both.  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  say 
that  he  had  a  ready  sympathy  and  helping  hand 
for  every  effort  to  do  good  in  our  own  city.  He 
had  his  preferences  of  one  method  above  another, 
but  he  rejoiced  in  the  success  of  all  that  he 
honestly  believed  were  proving  themselves  useful. 
Such  a  man  as  he  had  of  right  great  influ- 
ence in  the  church.  His  intelligence,  his  weight 
of  character,  his  extended  intercourse  with  edu- 
cated Christian  men,  and  his  sound  views  of  relig- 
ious truth,  were  recognized  and  appreciated.  If 
his  brethren  on  rare  occasions  differed  from  him 
in  judgment,  it  was  with  regret.  -And  yet  it  was 
on  these  occasions,  very  few  in  number,  that  his 
truly  Christian  spirit  manifested  itself  especially 
to  our  admiration.  He  not  only  held  fast  to  the 
principle  that  the  majority  must  rule,  but  he 
schooled  himself  into  a  prompt  and  good-natured 
submission  to  their  rule.  He  could  advocate  or 
oppose,  as  the  case  might  be,  a  given  movement 
with  great  earnestness  and  evident  conviction; 
and  yet,  when  he  saw  that  the  vote  of  his  breth- 
ren went  the  other  way,  accept  the  result  at 
once,  not  only  without  asperity,  but  with  the 
same  cheerfulness  as   if   his   own   view  had   been 


44 

adopted.  I  have  seen  him  rise  on  such  an  occa- 
sion, and  offer  a  motion  for  the  necessary  meas- 
ures to  carry  out  the  will  of  the  meeting,  and 
offer  his  own  services  in  execution  of  the  princi- 
pal labor  therein  involved.  In  this,  as  in  many 
other  things,  he  has  left  us  an  example  that  I 
trust  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 

I  know  I  shall  be  pardoned,  if  I  say  a  word 
in  this  connection  of  what  Judge  Crosby  has 
been  to  me  as  a  personal  friend,  adviser,  and 
helper  in  my  work  in  this  church  and  in  the 
city. 

The  first  letter  that  invited  me  to  Lowell 
was  from  him.  He  was  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee that  brought  me  the  proposition  to  settle 
here.  When  in  the  pecuniary  stringency  and 
pressure  that  brought  a  gloom  that  year  upon 
the  whole  country,  there  was  difficulty  in  meet- 
ing all  sorts  of  obligations,  he,  unsolicited,  I 
think,  advanced  money  for  the  payment  of  my 
salary. 

During  these  almost  twenty- eight  years  there 
have  been  many  times  when  he  was  to  me  just 
the  friend  for  the  hour.  There  are  others,  many 
others,  God  bless  them,  for  whom  I  could  say 
the  same.     But  the  services   rendered   have   been 


45 

different.  I  owe  him  many  a  debt,  the  items  of 
which  cannot  here  be  given,  and  for  which  the 
payment  in  full  has  waited  for  the  settlements 
on  the  other  shore. 

His  life  seems  to  me,  as  I  take  a  general 
review  of  it,  to  have  had  its  course  mainly  in 
the  sunshine  of  a  gracious  and  prosperous  Prov- 
idence, amid  the  smiles  of  friends,  and  with  an 
exhaustless  fund  of  pure  enjoyment  in  himself. 
Indeed,  it  is  scarcely  a  year  since  he  made  the 
remark,  "  I  cannot  say  of  the  years  I  have 
reached,  that  '  there  is  no  pleasure  in  them.' " 
Yet  he  has  passed  through  griefs  and  sorrows  of 
no  ordinary  type.  In  his  own  near  and  dear 
kindred  he  had  a  wealth  of  social  treasures  not 
often  equaled.  Not  many  men  can  point  to  so 
many  brothers  who  have  made  for  themselves  an 
eminent  name  and  a  permanent  record  in  the 
annals  of  their  country  by  their  literary  and  pro- 
fessional achievements.  It  was  a  generous  pride 
that  he  took  in  them,  and  he  tenderly  loved 
them.  But  he  was  called  to  follow  them  all,  one 
by  one,  to  the  grave.  His  sisters  too,  all  but  one, 
have  been  taken  from  him,  all  equally  beloved, 
and  surrendered  with  the  same  pangs  of  bereave- 
ment  and  of   grief.     But   nearer   to   his  own  life 


46 

did  the  destroyer  come  when  the  wife  of  his 
youth,  and  the  mother  of  his  children,  was  taken 
away.  For  a  time,  home  was  no  longer  home. 
Dear  ones  were  there,  dear  as  any  father's  heart 
had  ever  known,  but  the  vacancy  that  he  found 
there  had  an  answering  chasm  in  his  own  heart, 
which  was  for  the  time  the  one  consciousness  of 
his  life.  He  visited  his  brothers;  he  returned  to 
his  home.  He  sought  the  consolations  of  relig- 
ion. He  stood  in  his  pew  some  three  Sabbaths 
afterward  as  I  came  from  the  pulpit  after  having 
discoursed  upon  the  "  willing  mind  that  is  ac- 
cepted," defining  it  in  one  aspect  as  the  submis- 
sive and  acquiescent  mind  —  and  giving  me  his 
hand,  with  streaming  tears  and  breaking  voice, 
he  said,  "  Mr.  Street,  I  cannot  get  the  willing 
mind."  He  had  not  then  sufficiently  analyzed 
his  feelings  to  discover  that  the  very  struggle  to 
bring  his  mind  to  acquiesce  in  the  ways  of  God, 
was  submission  in  the  sight  of  heaven.  Some 
eight  years  afterward,  he  was  called  to  suffer 
another  and  a  double  bereavement,  for  which  no 
antecedent  sickness  had  prepared  him  —  daugh- 
ter and  granddaughter  buried  together  in  the 
waves.  We  were  all  smitten  with  the  sudden 
sense   of   bereavement   then.     How  vividly  comes 


47 

back  the  remembrance  of  those  days  of  unutter- 
able  suspense,  between  a  persistent  hope  that 
caught  at  every  straw,  and  the  dark  probability 
that  we  read  in  that  ominous  silence  of  the  cable 
advancing  every  day  nearer  to  the  deathly  cer- 
tainty !  What  a  week  of  horrors  was  that !  By 
day  and  by  night  the  little  we  could  know  — 
simply  that  first  startling  announcement  reiter- 
ated—  and  the  scene  it  presented  was  before  our 
minds.  How  we  refused  to  admit  the  thought 
that  our  loved  ones,  for  they  seemed  our  own, 
dear  as  sister  or  daughter  to  us  all,  could  have 
clung  through  all  those  dismal  hours  to  the  iron 
wreck,  to  be  swept  away  by  the  remorseless 
waves  at  last !  If  such  was  that  crisis  of  be- 
reavement to  us,  what  must  it  have  been  to  him, 
and  to  the  stricken  household,  who  shared  with 
him  the  terrible  blow !  Then  indeed  did  he 
walk  in  the  deep  valley,  and  bow  himself  down 
between  the  dark  mountains.  If  we  told  him 
what  a  treasure  God  had  lent  him  for  so  long  a 
time  —  he  replied,  "  Ah,  that  is  the  treasure  I 
have  lost !  The  brighter  •  you  make  it,  the 
greater  .  my  loss."  But  there  was  no  repining 
there !  There  was  crushing  grief.  Sorrow  that 
made    the    world    turn    dark    for    a    while.     But 


48 

rarely  has  a  human  spirit  been  chastened  into  a 
diviner  mood  than  came  afterward  upon  him.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  impression  that  was  left 
upon  my  mind  by  his  tender  and  moving  ad- 
dresses, from  week  to  week,  in  our  Friday  even- 
ing meetings.  He  did  not  on  these  occasions 
rise  from  his  seat;  and  he  seemed  like  one  who 
contemplated  uttering  only  a  few  words.  But  his 
first  thoughts  drew  on  others,  and  he  sometimes 
continued  on  at  considerable  length,  stirring  our 
hearts  as  if  he  had  a  message  from  heaven. 

Thus  did  his  terrible  affliction  work  out  the 
peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness.  And  thus  did 
he  emerge  from  the  shadow  of  his  great  calam- 
ity. "  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they 
shall  be  comforted." 

"Grief  may  bide  an  evening  guest, 

But  joy  shall  come  with  morning  light." 

Our  honored  friend  passed  into  the  evening 
of  life  almost  without  knowing  it.  "  If  this  is 
what  they  call  being  eighty-six  years  old,"  said 
he,  at  his  last  birthday  reception,  "  I  don't  know 
much  about  it."  The  energies  of  life  were  active 
and  strong,  and  the  sense  of  vitality  had  suffered 
no  loss;  his  mental  powers  were  bright  and  vig- 
orous   and    clear.      There   were    keen   flashes   of 


49 

thought  when  he  had  become  too  weak  for 
much  conversation,  and  ready,  vivacious  hits  that 
seemed  like  those  of  his  best  days.  He  seemed 
not  much  concerned  to  know  whether  he  was 
Hkely  to  recover  or  not.  It  was  indeed  a  won- 
der to  him  that  since  he  had  neither  disease  nor 
pain,  he  did  not  gain  strength  or  recuperation 
from  the  nourishment  that  was  provided  for  him. 
But  the  thought  of  what  this  all  meant,  or 
whither  it  pointed,  seems  to  have  given  him  no 
anxiety.  He  had  done  his  forecasting  in  other 
days,  and  preferred  to  go  on,  as  in  all  his  life, 
not  knowing  what  a  day  might  bring  forth.  No 
one  cared  to  obtrude  the  fatal  secret  upon  him, 
knowing,  as  we  all  did,  that  with  him  it  would 
make  no  difference.  He  had  nothing  to  settle 
with  the  unseen  powers.  The  accounts  were 
all  made  up.  The  eternal  covenant  was  signed 
and  sealed  with  blood.  And  so  the  wheels  sped 
on  to  the  end.  As  nature  sank,  the  spirit  rose; 
and  the  city  that  hath  foundations,  and  the 
house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heav- 
ens, we  doubt  not,  have  welcomed  our  dear  and 
honored  friend  to  his  long-promised  inheritance. 

How  hard   for   us    to   take  in  the  sad  fact  — 
sad  for  living  friends  who  have  known  and  loved 


50 

him  so  well  —  that  the  places  that  have  known 
him  will  know  him  no  more.  The  earthly  man- 
sion that  has  so  long  been  his  home  —  that 
bright  and  hospitable  home ;  the  court  room 
where  he  has  for  so  many  years  rendered  the 
decisions  of  human  justice — this  sanctuary  in 
which  he  was  so  constant  and  devout  a  wor- 
shiper for  so  many  years  —  that  seat  where  his 
presence  has  been  as  a  tower  of  strength  in  our 
earthly  Zion,  and  an  encouragement  and  stimu- 
lus to  both  pulpit  and  pew;  his  place  at  the 
preparatory  lecture  and  the  communion  table  — 
all  these  places  will  know  him  no  more.  He  is 
not  here.  By  the  favor  of  a  kind  Providence  he 
has  been  with  us  long.  He  has  fallen  only  thir- 
teen years  short  of  a  century  of  life.  His  allot- 
ted three-score  and  ten  years  have  become  nearly 
four-score  and  ten ;  and  yet  with  almost  no  trace 
of  that  gathering  infirmity  that  is  said  to  burden 
these  added  years  with  distress  and  sorrow;  he 
came  close  up  to  the  goal  with  such  a  measure 
of  strength,  and  with  such  royal  command  of  his 
faculties,  that  we  may  almost  say,  as  was  said  of 
Moses,  his  eye  was  not  dim  nor  his  natural  force 
abated.  But  his  time  had  come  to  depart.  The 
Master    called,    and    he    has    gone.     Did   he    not 


SI 

hear  something  like  this  as  he  neared  the  gates 
on  high,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant, 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord?"  And 
does  not  that  same  voice  speak  in  the  ears  of 
the  stricken  household  and  in  the  ears  of  this 
household  of  faith,  these  words  of  consolation  and 
grace  today :  "  Sorrow  not  as  those  who  have 
no  hope;  for  if  you  believe  that  Jesus  died  and 
rose  again,  even  so  them  that  sleep  in  Jesus 
will  God  bring  with  him.  Wherefore  comfort 
ye  one  another  with  these  words." 


action  of  t!)e  3Sar» 


On  occasion  of  the  death  of  Judge  Crosby,  a  meeting 
of  the  Lowell  Bar  Association  was  held  in  the  police  court 
room  on  the  12th  of  February,  1885,  and  was  largely  attended 
by  members  of  the  Bar. 

In  calling  the  meeting  to  order,  the  President  of  the 
Association  [Mr.  Bonney]  made  brief  remarks,  substantially 
as  follows : 

Brethren  of  the  Bar :  Nathan  Crosby,  who  for  more 
than  forty-two  years  has  been  connected  with  this  Bar,  and 
for  thirty-nine  years,  as  Standing  Justice,  has  presided  over 
the  police  court  of  this  city,  having  arrived  at  the  great  age 
of  eighty-seven  years,  and  finished  his  work,  has,  in  the 
inevitable  course  of  nature,  passed  from  life.  The  news- 
papers of  today  have  related  to  the  public  the  chief  inci- 
dents of  his  life,  and  they  are  too  familiar  to  all  of  us  to 
require  recitation  now.  This  is  not  the  occasion,  nor  is  mine 
the  office,  to  pronounce  a  eulogy  on  his  life  or  character  — 
we  are  here  for  a  different  purpose  —  but  it  is  difficult  to 
wholly  suppress  the  emotions  with  which  the  occasion  fills 
our  hearts. 

Judge  Crosby  sustained  a  closer  and  tenderer  relation 
to  the  members  of  this  Bar  than  to  any  other  portion  of  the 
community,   beyond    the   limits   of   his   immediate   family.     I 


54 

may  properly  say  that  to  many  of  us  his  relations  were 
paternal ;  before  him,  many  of  us  tried  our  first  cause,  and 
practically  commenced  our  life-work;  to  all  of  us  he  was  an 
intimate  and  affectionate  personal  friend.  This  we  all  feel, 
and  all  our  memories  of  him  are  pleasant  and  grateful. 

The  duration  of  his  judicial  life  is  remarkable.  Of  all 
the  judges  who  were  on  the  bench  of  this  State  or  (so  far 
as  I  know)  of  this  country  when  he  commenced  his  judicial 
career,  not  one  survives  him.  In  reviewing  his  long  official 
life,  what  reminiscences  must  have  filled  his  mind — and 
what  memories  does  this  occasion  bring  to  us  of  that  long 
roll  of  our  brethren  who  began  their  professional  life  in 
his  court  and  under  his  administration,  and  (some  of  them 
having  arrived  at  eminence  in  the  profession,  many  of  them 
at  the  average  age  of  man)  have  passed  from  life  before 
him. 

I  knew  Judge  Crosby  before  his  appointment  to  the 
bench,  and,  though  at  the  time  a  student,  it  happened  that 
the  conduct  of  the  justice  court  business  of  the  office  with 
which  I  was  connected  had  been  committed  to  me,  and  I 
tried  causes  before  him,  and  had  personal  observance  of  him 
during  the  entire  period  of  his  judicial  life.  There  were 
peculiar  circumstances  attending  the  commencement  of  his 
judicial  duties  which  rendered  his  position  one  of  very  great 
difficulties  and  severe  personal  trials.  The  manner  in  which 
he  sustained  himself  in  those  days,  and  surmounted  the 
difficulties  which  encompassed  him,  won  for  him  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  Bar,  and,  in  my  judgment,  were  the 
greatest  credit  and  triumph  of  his  life. 

The  prominent  traits  of  Judge  Crosby  were  his  great 
conscientiousness,     patience,     urbanity,     general    impartiality, 


55 

wonderful  self-control,  dignity,  and  absolute  freedom  from 
malice  and  vindictiveness.  I  have  observed  him  on  many 
occasions  of  great  provocation,  but  I  never  saw  him  in 
anger.  I  never  saw  the  least  indication  that  he  harbored 
malice  or  desire  of  revenge  against  any.  He  had  a  forgiving 
spirit,  and  he  freely  forgave  those  that  did  him  wrong. 
There  is  a  portion  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  which  we  often 
shudderingly  hear  uttered  by  men  whose  hearts  we  have  rea- 
son to  know  are  filled  with  unforgiveness  and  revengeful 
desires.  I  firmly  believe  that  Judge  Crosby  might  safely  and 
with  propriety  have  prayed,  "  Lord,  forgive  me  my  trespasses 
as  I  forgive  those  that  trespass  against  me." 

I  have  spoken  of  his  affection  for  the  members  of  this 
Bar.  I  deem  it  fitting  that  I  should  relate  that  the  last 
time  I  saw  Judge  Crosby  —  a  few  weeks  ago  at  my  own 
house  —  after  he  had  finished  the  immediate  purpose  of  his 
call,  he  spoke  of  himself  and  his  health,  and  expressed  his 
apprehension,  in  view  of  his  advanced  age,  that,  though  him- 
self unaware  of  the  fact,  his  mental  faculties  might  have 
failed  him  to  such  extent  that  he  had  become  a  tax  to 
the  patience  of  the  Bar,  and  it  was  his  duty  to  retire  from 
the  bench.  I  assured  him  that  I  had  observed  and  heard 
nothing  indicating  such  a  state  of  things.  He  then  took 
occasion  to  express  in  warm  and  evidently  heartfelt  terms 
his  sense  of  obligation  for  the  respect  and  great  kindness 
with  which  he  was  treated  by  the  members  of  the  Bar  and 
his  love  for  them.  He  so  expressed  himself  that  it  was 
evident  that  his  heart  made  no  exception  —  his  affections 
embraced  every  one  of  us. 

Judge  Crosby  had  passed  the  extreme  age  allotted  to 
man,  and  is  taken  from  us  when  the  purpose  of  his   life  was 


56 

accomplished — pursuant  to  the  natural  laws  of  transition  by 
which  all  mortality  must  pass  away.  To  complain  of  this  is 
to  rebel  against  nature  and  God.  For  his  long,  useful,  and 
pure  life  with  us,  we  have  great  reason  for  congratulation 
and  thankfulness. 

I  beg  you  will  pardon  these  unpremeditated  remarks ; 
we  are  called  together  at  this  time,  not  for  eulogy,  mourning, 
nor  mingling  of  tears,  but  for  business  —  to  take  such  action 
as  shall  seem  best  to  enable  us  at  a  fitting  time  to  manifest 
our  respect  for  the  good  and  honored  citizen  and  judge,  our 
beloved  brother  and  friend,  who  has  gone  to  his  final  rest. 

Brethren  of  the  Bar,  the  Chair  awaits  your  pleasure. 

The  Hon.  Daniel  S.  Richardson  said  he  fully  concurred 
with  the  President  in  all  his  remarks  upon  the  venerable 
man  who  had  just  passed  away,  and  moved  that  a  committee 
of  seven  be  appointed  by  the  Chair  to  draw  up  resolutions 
to  be  presented  at  another  meeting  of  the  Bar,  and  after 
receiving  its  approval,  to  be  presented  to  the  family  of  the 
dead  jurist. 

The  Chair  appointed  the  following  committee :  D.  S. 
Richardson,  J.  N.  Marshall,  Jeremiah  Crowley,  John  Davis, 
C.  S.  Lilley,  Jonathan  Ladd,  and  George  H.  Stevens. 

At  a  subsequent  largely  attended  meeting  of  the  Bar, 
held  in  the  court  room  on  March  4,  1885,  the  following 
resolutions  were  introduced  by  Hon.  D.  S.  Richardson, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee,  with  a  few  eloquent,  well- 
chosen   words   of   eulogy : 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Whereas,  Nathan  Crosby,  the  Standing  Justice  of  the 
Lowell   Police    Court,  who  was  born  February  12,  1798,  died 


57 

on  Tuesday,  the  tenth  day  of  February  ultimo,  and  Whereas, 
his  long  life  among  us,  and  his  honorable  career  as  a  judge, 
commencing  May  19,  1846,  and  ending  only  with  his  life, 
make  his  death  the  more  impressive,  and  render  it  just  that 
the  members  of  the  Lowell  Bar  Association  should  in  some 
form  pay  an  appropriate  tribute  to  his  memory,  and  express 
fitting  words  of  consolation  for  his  family  and  relatives, 
therefore  : 

Resolved^  That  we  bear  testimony  to  the  usefulness  of 
the  deceased  during  his  long  judicial  services,  and  to  his 
ability  and  patient  industry  and  faithful  discharge  of  his 
official  duties  amidst  all  the  perplexities  inseparable  from  a 
judicial  position,  and  we  express  our  acknowledgment  of 
his  worth  as  a  citizen,  and  of  the  value  of  the  example 
which  his  life  furnished. 

Resolved^  That  his  administration  of  justice  in  his  court, 
which  had  varied  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction,  extending 
over  a  large  community,  gave  general  satisfaction,  as  coming 
from  a  judge  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties, 
and  aiming  to  do  right,  and  that  if  he  made  errors,  they 
were  errors  of  judgment,  to  which  all  are  liable,  and  which 
he  would  have  been  glad  to  correct. 

Resolved^  That  we  recognize  and  acknowledge  his  kindly 
feelings  towards  the  members  of  the  Bar  of  this  court,  most 
of  whom  now  in  the  practice  of  the  law  commenced  the 
same  after  he  took  his  seat  on  the  bench,  and  received  their 
earliest  professional  experience  and  training  in  his  court,  and 
whose  progress  and  advance  therein  he  looked  upon  with 
parental  regard. 

Resolved^  That  we  tender  to  his  family  and  relatives 
our   sympathies   with   them   in   their  grief,   and   bear  witness 


58 


to  the  pleasant  memories  of  his  life-time,  which  surround 
his  name,  and  bring  comfort  to  those  who  mourn  for  him. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  the 
Lowell  Police  Court,  with  the  request  that  they  be  entered 
on  the  records  thereof,  at  the  close  of  the  record  of  his 
long  judicial  work,  where  they  may  remain  as  a  grateful 
acknowledgment  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the  Bar 
of  the  value  of  his  labors  on  the  bench,  and  as  the  expres- 
sion of  our  respect  for  the  memory  of  an  upright  and  con- 
scientious lawyer  and  judge,  and  of  a  valued  and  honored 
fellow-citizen. 

The  resolutions,  before  being  read  in  open  court,  were 
adopted   by  the  Bar  Association. 

REMARKS     BY    D.     HALL    RICE,    ESQ. 

May  it  please  the  Court:  Although  I  may  fairly  be 
reckoned  as  among  the  younger  members  of  the  Bar,  in  com- 
parison with  those  who  knew  Judge  Crosby  longest  and  best, 
I  feel  that  it  is  proper  that  I  should  contribute  what  I 
can  upon  this  occasion  in  expression  of  my  respect  and 
regard  for  his  character,  as  the  presiding  justice  of  this 
court  for  many  years.  It  is  the  pride  and  boast  of  our 
legal  fraternity,  as  well  as  the  citizens  at  large  of  our  Com- 
monwealth, and  justly  too,  that  we  have  always  possessed  a 
judiciary  illustrious  for  learning  and  dignity,  a  judiciary 
capable  of  tempering  justice  with  mercy  while  maintaining 
the  integrity  of  our  laws,  a  judiciary  second  to  none  in  our 
nation  for  the  acumen  and  exhaustive  comprehensiveness  of 
its  decisions.  Not  only  is  this  true  of  our  higher  but  of  our 
lower  courts,  and  among  the  names  of  those  who  have  given 
them  this  reputation,  none  has  stood  higher  for   many  years, 


59 

and  none  will  be  better  remembered  for  many  years  to  come 
than  that  of  Nathan  Crosby. 

I  well  remember,  sir,  the  impression  made  upon  my 
mind,  when  sixteen  years  ago  I  first  entered  his  court,  and 
commenced  to  practice  my  profession  here  before  him.  Com- 
ing as  I  did  from  a  Southern  State,  where  I  had  already 
commenced  my  profession,  and  having  read  law  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  being  thus  to  some  extent  familiar  with 
the  forms  of  judicial  procedure  in  those  courts,  I  was  never- 
theless impressed  with  the  dignity  which  he  maintained  upon 
the  bench,  with  the  patience  with  which  he  heard  the  causes 
brought  before  him,  and  with  the  sterling  common  sense  with 
which,  breaking  through  the  maze  of  obscurity  cast  about  the 
vital  points  of  the  controversy  by  counsel  and  witnesses,  he 
so  often  arrived  at  the  crucial  questions  which  determined 
his  judgment.  If  we  cannot  say  of  Judge  Crosby  that  we 
believed  him  to  have  always  decided  rightly  (and  of  what 
judge  could  we  truthfully  say  this  ? ),  we  can  at  least  say 
what  redounds  far  more  to  his  credit,  that  he  always  decided 
as  he  believed  to  be  right,  regardless  of  personal  bias  or 
popular  prejudice.  Judge  Crosby  was  first  and  foremost  a 
just  judge.  We  always  felt  when  before  him  that  what  he 
desired  most  was  to  do  that  justice  and  fairness  which  is  the 
highest  credit  that  we  can  give  to  the  bench.  Technical 
pleas,  unsupported  by  justice,  stood  little  chance  of  favorable 
consideration  by  him.  Not  that  he  disregarded  those  legal 
maxims  which  have  come  down  to  us  as  the  contribution  of 
the  wisdom  of  successive  ages  in  the  form  of  established 
law.  To  these  he  was  always  subservient.  But  there  is  a 
capacity  of  the  judicial  mind  to  distinguish  in  their  applica- 
tion where   the   dictates   of   rigid   legal   forms  end,  and  those 


6o 


of  equity  begin,  and  this  capacity  Judge  Crosby  possessed 
in  an  eminent  degree. 

When  I  come  to  his  personal  relations  with  this  Bar, 
and  especially  to  speak  of  the  interest  he  felt  in  the  younger 
members  of  it  individually,  how  can  I  express  the  feelings  of 
gratitude  which  each  one  of  us  must  have  had  towards  him 
living,  and  of  reverence  for  his  memory  now  that  he  is  dead  ? 
He  never  forgot  that  he  was  once  a  young  lawyer,  and  he 
listened  with  all  the  more  patience  to  us  younger  lawyers 
when  we  came  before  him  to  plead  a  cause.  He  was  always 
anxious  to  show  us  that  he  took  an  active  living  interest  in 
the  members  of  our  profession,  and  I  believe  he  always 
rejoiced  in  our  success.  With  always  a  kindly  and  genial 
word  to  bestow  upon  us,  even  when  he  denied  our  request, 
he  brought  home  to  us  the  truth  that  social  and  friendly 
relations  are  always  compatible  with  the  earnest  conflicts  of 
the  legal  forum,  and  so  strengthened  the  bond  of  our  associa- 
tion when  those  conflicts  were  over. 

When  I  am  present  at  the  opening  of  our  courts  in  the 
morning  session,  and  hear  those  words  that  end  the  public 
proclamation  that  justice  shall  be  done,  "  God  save  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts,"  I  feel  that  I  can  truly  say  that 
it  is  by  such  judges  as  Nathan  Crosby  was,  as  the  ministers 
of  that  Providence  which  rules  over  all,  that  her  laws  are 
preserved  inviolate,  and  respected  throughout  her  borders. 

If  it  may  not  be  said  of  him  that  he  was  among  the 
intellectual  giants  at  the  Bar  or  upon  the  bench,  we  can 
still  say,  as  we  say  of  the  oak  that  impresses  us  by  its  sym- 
metry of  form  and  vigorous  growth,  that  he  possessed  a 
sturdy  symmetry  of  character,  often  wanting  in  more  renowned 
men. 


6i 


Affectionate  and  eloquent  tributes  to  the  conscientious- 
ness, urbanity,  patience,  and  nice  sense  of  judicial  propriety 
of  the  dead  Judge  were  paid  by  the  Hon.  Charles  Cowley, 
Luther  E.  Shepherd,  George  H.  Stevens,  Martin  L.  Ham- 
blett,  F.  W.  Qua,  Esquires,  Hon.  Jeremiah  Crowley,  and 
others ;  and  Judge  Hadley  spoke  as  follows : 

Gentlemen :  The  words  of  kindly  eulogy  and  tender 
remembrance  which  have  been  spoken  by  members  of  the 
Bar  in  reference  to  the  late  venerable  Standing  Justice  of 
the  court,  and  the  resolutions  presented,  which  embody  in 
appropriate  language  your  estimate  of  his  life  and  character, 
meet  my  cordial  approval.  Having  been  for  many  years,  as 
you  all  know,  intimately  associated  with  Judge  Crosby  in  the 
performance  of  official  duty  in  this  court,  I  came  to  know 
him  well,  and  only  to  esteem  and  respect  him.  During  these 
years  of  official  intercourse,  covering  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  nothing  ever  occurred  to  disturb  our  intimate 
relations,  and  not  an  unkind,  unjust,  or  ungentle  word  was 
ever  exchanged  between  us.  If  we  differed,  it  was  with 
the  best  of  feeling,  but  with  mutual  respect.  He  was  a  very 
dear  and  kind  friend  to  me,  and  I  am  glad  to  testify  to 
his  many  acts  of  pure  and  disinterested  friendship  during 
our  long  companionship. 

Judge  Crosby  was  a  man  of  many  noble  and  amiable 
qualities.  He  was  a  man  of  high  standards,  and  moved 
upon  an  exalted  plane  of  moral  action.  He  was  a  man  of 
pure  and  honest  instincts,  and  our  community  is  better 
today  for  his  long  life  of  Christian  work  and  example 
among  us.  For  nearly  thirty-nine  years  he  performed  judi- 
cial service  in  this  court,  seldom  absent,  except  for  a  few 
days  on   account  of  slight  illness  or   a  brief  visit.      In   the 


62 


discharge  of  these  duties,  he  was,  I  believe,  so  far  as  it 
was  possible  for  a  man  to  be  so,  humane,  conscientious, 
incorruptible,   and    just. 

Where  his  duty,  as  he  saw  it,  called  him,  there  he  was 
sure  to  be  found.  Reared  in  what  would  perhaps  in  these 
days  be  called  an  austere  school  of  morals,  he  was  bold, 
earnest,  and  aggressive  in  his  denunciation  of  what  he 
deemed  wrong  and  injurious  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow- 
men,  and  at  the  same  time  he  was  by  no  means  narrow 
or  illiberal.  A  kinder  hearted,  a  more  truly  sympathetic 
man  I  never  knew.  His  heart  was  always  warm  with  a 
generous  philanthropy.  He  felt  keenly  for  the  poor  unfor- 
tunate ones  who  were  daily  brought  before  him  —  the  vic- 
tims of  inherited  or  acquired  appetite,  heirs  of  transmitted 
sorrows,  born  of  poverty  and  neglect,  without  kindly  nurture 
or  the  sweet  influences  of  home,  and  he  has  many  times 
said  to  me  how  deeply  it  grieved  him  to  do  his  duty  by 
them,  for  he  felt  that  the  blame  was  not  theirs  alone.  He 
was  a  good  example  of  the  well-bred  Christian  gentleman. 
He  had  a  dignity  of  manner,  a  gentlemanly  bearing,  a 
kindly  presence,  which  never  deserted  him,  and  which  always 
inspired  respect.  However  much  one  might  differ  with  him 
in  his  reasoning  and  conclusions  in  cases  tried  before  him, 
or  expressed  in  his  published  appeals  on  moral  subjects, 
you  could  not  but  feel  that  he  was  honest,  pure,  and  con- 
scientious. 

I  hardly  think  that  many  of  us  who  were  accustomed 
to  see  him  in  his  place  on  this  bench,  fully  realized  how 
much  of  this  world's  momentous  history  post-dated  the  birth 
of  our  venerable  friend.  Born  in  1798,  the  middle-aged  men 
and  women  who  were  about  him  in  his   boyhood   and   youth, 


63 

were  active  participants  in  the  great  events  which  gave  free- 
dom to  these  States,  and  established  the  republican  gov- 
ernment under  which  we  live.  To  them  the  victories  of 
Saratoga  and  Yorktown  were  as  recent  events  as  those 
of  Antietam  and  Gettysburg  are  to  the  middle-aged  men  of 
today.  In  1798,  with  few  exceptions,  most  of  the  great 
statesmen  and  commanders  of  the  Revolution  were  still  liv- 
ing. Washington  was  passing  the  last  year  of  his  grand  life 
in  quiet  retirement  at  Mt.  Vernon.  George  III  was  still 
King  of  England.  Bonaparte  had  but  just  began  his  career 
of  conquest.  Marengo,  Jena,  Austerlitz,  and  Hohenlinden 
—  indeed  most  of  the  great  Napoleonic  struggles,  so 
familiar  in  our  reading,  were  events  of  the  then  future. 
The  year  of  his  birth  Nelson  won  the  battle  of  the  Nile; 
but  the  crowning  glory  of  Trafalgar  was  not  achieved.  Our 
venerable  friend  had  beheld  the  growth  and  development 
of  our  country  from  feeble,  debt-burdened  commonwealths, 
just  emerging  from  a  terrible  conflict  for  independence,  and 
entering  upon  national  life  with  a  population  wasted  by  war 
and  disease,  to  a  great,  splendid,  and  populous  empire  of 
freemen,  including  a  magnificent  domain  extending  from 
ocean   to  ocean. 

Madame  de  Stael  has  said,  "It  is  difficult  to  grow  old 
gracefully."  Judge  Crosby  did  not  find  it  so,  for  surely 
nothing  could  exceed  the  charming  ease  and  pleasant  grace 
with  which  he  assumed  the  burden  of  an  added  year.  He 
always  entered  on  a  new  twelvemonth  with  happy  cheer 
and  almost  youthful  anticipation.  He  was  by  nature  a  man, 
as  Wordsworth  has  said,  "of  cheerful  yesterdays  and  con- 
fident  tomorrows." 

He   was   a  man   of   a  kind   and  forgiving  spirit,   bearing 


64 

no  malice,  and  harboring  no  resentments.  His  was  also  a 
generous  and  hospitable  nature,  and  no  man  felt  a  deeper 
interest  than  he  in  plans  for  the  alleviation  of  the  distresses 
of  poverty  and  the  moral  improvement  of  mankind.  Feeling 
great  interest  in  these  subjects,  he  did  what  he  could  with 
his  pen  for  their  advancement  and  success.  That  he  wrote 
truthfully,  earnestly,  and  fearlessly  this  community  will 
attest. 

Having  reached  an  age  exceeding  by  many  years  the 
allotted  life  of  man,  and  being  prepared  by  the  consolations 
and  assurances  of  a  Christian  faith  for  the  great  change, 
he  peacefully  passed  away.  He  will  be  long  remembered 
in  this  community  as  an  upright  magistrate  and  a  useful 
and  patriotic  citizen. 


